2026 CFL slate looks great for reigning Grey Cup champions

The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ 2026 schedule is a 10.

Ten CFL regular-season home games will be on the agenda as the Green and White endeavours to defend a Grey Cup championship it won on Nov. 16.

At the risk of being slightly confusing, the Roughriders will technically be the away team one of the 10 times they play at Mosaic Stadium during the regular season.

A typical schedule consists of nine home and nine away contests per team. But 2026 will not be a typical year for the Toronto Argonauts, who are facing scheduling issues due to the FIFA World Cup.

Because of reduced availability at Toronto’s BMO Field, the Argonauts’ June 26 game against Saskatchewan will be held in Regina.

As a counterbalance, a pre-season game will not be played at Mosaic Stadium in 2026. The Roughriders will nonetheless welcome an authentic home crowd when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers visit Griffiths Stadium on May 23 for the first Saskatoon-based pre-season game since 1991.

“For me, the excitement comes from hosting 10 games at Mosaic Stadium and from hosting that game in Saskatoon,” President-CEO Craig Reynolds said after the 2026 schedule was released on Tuesday. “The buzz in Saskatoon is pretty awesome to see.”

There is also the convenience factor, considering that training camp will once again be held at Griffiths Stadium on the University of Saskatchewan campus.

The Roughriders’ regular-season opener also promises to be a happening. Before a June 13 home date with the B.C. Lions, a 2025 Grey Cup banner will be unveiled at Mosaic Stadium.

“It’s going to be very special,” Reynolds said. “The reality with our franchise is that we’ve only done (a banner unveiling) four times — this will be the fifth — so you certainly can’t take them for granted.

“We all know how hard it is to accomplish that goal, so you do want to celebrate it when the hard work pays off. The banner will fit nicely, right next to 2013 (at the north end of the stadium).

“It’s going to be a special moment for our fans and it will be a chance to reflect on what a great season, and what a great ride, it was.”

The Roughriders’ opener will take place in Week 2 of the regular season. Saskatchewan and B.C. both have Week 1 byes.

The Roughriders will, however, kick off the CFL’s pre-season schedule when they visit the Calgary Stampeders on May 18. Just five days later, Saskatchewan will conclude its pre-season slate with the game in Saskatoon.

Then comes a three-week span in which the Roughriders will not face a live opponent.

“There’s pros and cons to that, for sure,” Reynolds said.

“We sort of have a bye week for the final week of the pre-season, although it’s not a true bye week because we’ll still be at camp. Then we have the Week 1 bye.

“There’s some positives to that for the team, though, because it allows the players to get settled with their lives. Once they make the team, they’ve got to find places to live. If you’re new to Saskatchewan and/or Canada, there’s a bit of figuring out the city — and we don’t have camp in the city they’re going to live in.

“Sometimes there’s benefits when one team has a bye and the other one doesn’t, but the team we’re playing also has a bye so there’s really no difference.”

The June 13 Western Final rematch will be the first of four Saturday home games for the 2026 Roughriders. The slate also includes three Fridays, two Sundays — including the 61st Labour Day Classic versus Winnipeg on Sept. 6 — and one Thursday.

“We always look at the schedule from a football perspective and a fan perspective,” Reynolds said. “There are always trade-offs but, on the whole, it’s pretty good from both perspectives.

“Considering the World Cup and the limited stadium availabilities (in Toronto and B.C.), I actually expected more challenges than there were. So when I saw the final schedule, I was pretty pleased for both our fans and our football team.”